Towing apparatus.



E. MECKELBURG. TOWING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 26. 1906.

Patehted June 7,191.0.

ITED earns area "ra io EDUARI) MEGKELBURG, OF CHARLOTTENBURG, BERLIN, GERMANY, ASSIG-NOR TO SIEMENS-SCHUGKERT-WERKE G. M. B. H., OF BERLIN, GERMANY, A CORPORATION OF GERMANY.

TOWING APPARATUS.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDUARD MncKnLBURG, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, and a resident of Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany, have invented a new and useful Towing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the towing of ships by means of towing members traveling upon tracks laid beside the body of water in which the ships move.

The object of my invention is to employ the towing members in such a manner as to obtain the best traction.

lVhen ships are towed by towing locomotives great difficulties are in many instances encountered, due to the fact that the resistance of the ship exceeds the usual amount of about 1000 to 1500 kg. This may be due to the size of the ship to be towed, or it may be because the current of the water or the speed of the ship is very great. In such cases, the usual operating devices do not sufiice and it is necessary to give the track some form which will particularly adapt it to offer a great resistance against longitudinal and transverse forces and to correspondingly increase the traction of the locomotive wheels upon the track, or to assist the traction by means of special apparatus. In order to solve this problem, different arrangements have been suggested, as for example, making the rails in the form of racks so as to take up the longitudinal draft and providing special pressure rails with anchors to take up the lateral draft. For increasing the traction of the locomotives, different constructions have been suggested in which the load on the driving axles is increased by means of special distribution of the locomotives or by means of the draft itself. Both of the aforesaid arrangements for adapting towing locovmotive systems to great drafts have proved ineffective and expensive. Furthermore, the elevation which is necessary when rack rails or other extraordinary construction of the track is used, presents unsurmountable obstacles to the trafic which is directed transversely to the water-way at the location of bridges, harbors and loading and unloading places. In spite of these facts the experi ments of solving the problem by the constructional form of the track or of the ve- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 26, 1906.

Patented June '7, 1910.

Serial No. 327,898.

hicle have not been abandoned. According to the present invention, such methods are entirely abandoned in order to permit of the use of ordinary tracks and operating means.

The invention consists in distributing the drafts and transmitting it to a series of locomotives or other form of towing members such as, for example, independently driven vehicle subframes or trucks. In this way, the vehicles ordinarily used suffice without an increase in the frictional weight by special means being necessary. Furthermore, the length of track which is used in transmitting the draft to the towing members is greater than when the draft is concentrated on one place only. The most important feature, however, is that the lateral forces are distributed over several portions of the track, while in the customary coupling of several locomotives in succession the lateral forces are taken up by the last locomotive and only the particular portion of the track upon which this locomotive rests. The lateral forces are the principal cause of difficulty in the use of towing locomotives, and have given rise to numerous experiments and suggestions as to the special construction of the track and the vehicle.

To clearly illustrate my invention I shall describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which are illustrated by way of example a few of the ways in which my invention may be carried out.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing in plan view one form of apparatus according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram in elevation of the towing members shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram in plan of another form of apparatus for carrying out my invention. Fig. 4 is a diagram in elevation of the towing members shown in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a diagram in elevation showing certain details of the apparatus.

The present invention may be carried out in difierent ways. It is essential, however, that each unit Z Z Z of the towing members have direct connection to the vessel (Figs. 1 and 3) by means of suitable towing lines, such as shown at 2 leading from each unit to the load h. The units of the towing members need not be complete locomotives. It is suflicient for the purposeof the present process that they have independent driving means so as to provide for a plurality of points of traction. They may be connected together or free from each other. It is often advisable, especially when the draft is increased, to have a series of independent locomotives traveling in succession but not coupled together. In order to regulate the motors m of the locomotives simultaneously, it is then advantageous to control them from a single place by means of distant control. The motors m are then connected by means of a cable is, to the controller 8 positioned on one of the locomotives as clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Each locomotive or towing mem ber has direct connection with the ship it by means of tow lines a, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3. For continued heavy draft, it is often advantageous to combine a plurality of separately driven vehicle subframes or trucks into a single locomotive, as shown in Fig. 1, and to connect the same with the ship by means of tow lines 2. The tow lines are preferably in the form of a single continuous rope or cable which is passed through the compensating devices such as the rollers 0 or they may be separate lines connected with each other by means of well known levers for automatic compensatin In nearly all towing systems it is necessary to vary the elevation and length of the tow line during the operation in order to raise the rope for clearing obstructions or to take up the slack or give out more line to compensate for the varying distance between the towing members and the ship. By raising and lowering the line, guiding devices may be provided whose elevation is adjustable by suitable means such as electric motors, as for example, the masts provided with carriers 7) or pulleys r. According to my process each unit of the towing members must be provided with such an elevating device. In order to reduce the size of the crew and to enable uniform and simultaneous adjustment of all the tow lines, it is well to operate by means of distant control all the elevating devices from a single engineers cab.

In the system illustrated in Fig. 3, the tow line masts g are pivotally supported at their base upon the towing members and are provided at their upper extremity with either a carrying member 7) or a pulley 1 through which the tow line passes. A lever pivotally attached to the masts near their base engages a collar which is internally threaded and surrounds a threaded armature shaft of the motor m A controller s. located in the engineers cab on the locomotive Z may be electrically connected with all the motors m, by a cable 7c, in order that all the motors may be operated in unison to raise and lower the masts upon the locomotives by the rotation of their armatures. The direction and speed of the motors may be regulated from the same controller.

To take up slack or give out the tow line, the latter may be carried over a winding drum Z which may also be operated from the enginee1"s cab on the first locomotive by lever 8,, which controls the motor 9a,. For this purpose each locomotive may be provided with a winding drum for varying the length of the particular section of tow line between it and the ship, and these may all be controlled in unison by the controller above referred to on the first locomotive. Itis preferable, however, to employ a single continuous tow line passed back and forth between the ship and the several towing members over pulleys r and carrier 7), with its one end secured to the boat or one of the towing members and its other end wound upon a single winding drum 7? carried by one of the locomotives, as clearly shown in the drawings.

lVhile I have shown only two forms of the towing members in the drawings, I do not wish to limit my invention to these forms, as they are described merely because they serve to illustrate the principle upon which my invention is founded and are not intended to be limitations of my invention.

The term towing member, as employed by me, is intended to indicate either a single locomotive or a single separately driven locomotive truck or sub-frame or in fact any such apparatus which has its own driving mechanism. lVhere towing locomotives are referred to they may be considered either connected together or free from each other unless specified to be one or the other.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a tow line directly connecting each of said towing members to the ship to be towed, means or raising and lowering the tow line directly connecting each towing member with the ship, and means for controlling all of the raising and lowering means in unison.

2. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a tow line directly connecting each of said towing members with the ship to be towed, means carried by each towing memher for raising and lowering the tow line directly connecting it with the ship, and means for simultaneously controlling all of said raising and lowering means.

8. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a tow line directly connecting each towing member with the ship to be towed, means carried by each towing member for raising and lowering the tow line directly connecting it with the ship, means for controlling the driving mechanisms of all the towing members in unison, and means for controlling all of the raising and lowering means in unison.

4:. In apparatus fortowingships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechanism, of a single continuous tow line directly connecting all of the towing members with the ship to be towed, compensating devices for automatically adjusting the operating lengths of the tow line between each towing member and the ship, and means for controlling the driving mechanisms of all the towing members in unison.

5. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechanism and a single continuous tow line directly connecting all of the towing members with the ship to be towed, compensating means for automatically adjusting the operating lengths of the tow line between the towing members and boat, means for raising and lowering said tow line, and means for controlling the driving mechanisms of all the towing members in unison.

6. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a single continuous tow line directly connecting all of the towing members with the ship to be towed, compensating devices on the towing members and on the ship for automatically adjusting the operating lengths of the tow line between each towing member and the ship, means for raising and lowering the portions of the tow line between each towing member and the ship and means for simultaneously controlling all of said raising and lowering means.

7. In apparatus for towing ships, the combinati on with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a single continuous tow line directly connecting all of the towing members with the ship to be towed, compensating pulleys for automaticallyadjusting the operating lengths of the tow line between the towing members and the ship, and a winding drum for varying the total operating length of said tow line.

8. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechan ism, of a single continuous tow line directly connecting all of the towing members with the ship to be towed, compensating pulleys for automatically adjusting the operating lengths of the tow line between the towing members and the ship, means for raising and lowering the tow line and a winding drum for varying the total operating length of the tow line.

9. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each of which has its own driving mechanism; of a single continuous tow line directly connecting all of the towing members with the ship to be towed, compensating pulleys for automatically adjusting the operating lengths of the tow line between the towing members and the ship, means carried by the towing members adapted to raise and lower the tow line, means for controlling all of said driving mechanisms in unison and means for controlling all of said raising and lowering means in unison.

10. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a single continuous tow line directly connecting all of the towing members with the ship to be towed, compensating pulleys for automatically adjusting the operating lengths of the tow line between the towing members and the ship, means for raising and lowering the tow line between each of the towing members and the ships, the winding drum for varying the total operating length of the tow line, means for controlling said winding drum, means for controlling all of the raising and lowering means in unison and means for controlling all of the driving mechanisms of the towing members in unison.

11. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of separate and independent towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a tow line connection means on each towing member adapted to be raised and lowered, a tow line directly connecting the ship to be towed with each of the towing members at the said tow line connection means, and means for raising and lowering said tow line connec tion means.

12. In appa'atus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of separate and independent towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a tow line connection means on each towing member adapted to be raised and lowered, a tow line directly connecting the ship to be towed with each of the towing members at the said tow line connection means, means for raising and lowering said tow line connection means, and compensating means for auto matically adjusting the operating length of the tow line between each towing member and the ship.

13. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of separate and independent towing members each having its own driving mechanism; of a tow line connection means on each towing member adapted to be'raised and lowered, a tow line directly connecting each towing member with the ship to be towed, means for raising and lowering the tow line and means for varying the total operating length of the tow line.

14. In a towing member, the combination with a pivotally supported mast having means for connecting the tow line at its upper extremity; of an electric motor operating a threaded shaft, an internally threaded sleeve positioned on said threaded shaft and a link or lever pivotally connected at one end to said internally threaded sleeve and at its other end to the said mast whereby rotation of the said threaded shaft imparts a swinging motion to said mast to raise and lower the upper extremity thereof.

15. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members, a mast pivotally supported thereon, and a tow line connecting means at the upper extremity of each of said masts; of means for imparting a swinging motion to said masts on each towing member to raise and lower its upper extremity, and means for controlling all the latter mentioned means in unison.

16. In apparatus for towing ships, the combination with a plurality of towing members, a mast pivotally supported on each towing member and a tow line connecting device at the upper extremity of each of said masts, of an electric motor on each towing member operating a threaded shaft, an internally threaded sleeve or collar on each of said threaded shafts, a link or lever having its ends pivotally connected to said screw and its other end pivotally connected to said masts on each towing member, and means for controlling all of said electric motors in unison to simultaneously rot-ate said threaded shafts whereby all the masts are swung in unison upon their pivotal supports to raise and lower their upper extremities.

EDUARD MECKELBURG.

\Vitnesses lVoLnnMAR HAUPT, HENRY IIASPER. 

